57 Syrian Organizations Urge Safe Return of the Displaced from Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê and Tall Abyad/Girê Spî and Restitution of Their Property Ensuring that the violations experienced in the area are incorporated into transitional justice programs that g

2025-10-08
Despite the major transformations Syria has undergone—including the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, the formation of the Transitional Government, and the return of nearly two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their homes and communities—tens of thousands of those forcibly displaced from Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê, Tell Abyad/Girê Spî, and Afrin remain deprived of their right to return or to reclaim their property.

On 9 October 2019, Turkey, with the support of Turkish-backed factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA), launched the military “Peace Spring” Operation on areas of Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî, resulting in the occupation of the two regions and the displacement of more than 200,000 residents.

Over the past six years, systematic and widespread violations of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), perpetrated by Turkish forces and Turkish-backed factions, have been documented. These violations include extrajudicial killings, field executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment, as well as large-scale seizures of property belonging to indigenous inhabitants—including Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Syriacs/Assyrians, Yazidis, Chechens, and others.

Tens of thousands of indigenous residents remain forcibly displaced, living in extremely difficult humanitarian conditions in camps and collective shelters that lack recognition and support from the United Nations.

Independent Syrian civil society organizations estimate that over 85% of Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê’s population remains displaced; The Kurdish population has plummeted from around 75,000 to fewer than 50, while Armenians, Syriacs/Assyrians, and Yazidis are reduced to only a handful. In Tell Abyad/Girê Spî, only a few Kurdish families remain.

The humanitarian situation has further deteriorated due to the politicization of water resources. Since Turkey’s occupation of the area, water from Alouk Water Station, east of Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê, has been deliberately and repeatedly cut off, depriving approximately 800,000 residents of al-Hasakah City and its surrounding countryside of safe drinking water and sanitation services—an egregious violation of their right to water.

Upon signing the 10 March Agreement between the Syrian Transitional Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Clause V enshrined a moral and political commitment to the return of all displaced persons to their homes and their protection by the Syrian state. Yet, seven months later, the absence of tangible progress regarding the displaced from Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî underscores the urgent need to prioritize a safe, dignified, and equitable return—irrespective of political bargaining or temporary security arrangements.

Accordingly, the undersigned Syrian organizations reaffirm their full solidarity with the displaced from Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî, as well as with all victims and displaced persons across Syria, and call upon the international community, the Syrian Transitional Government, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the Turkish Government, and all relevant parties to:

Ensure the immediate, safe, and dignified return of all displaced persons from Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî, while removing all obstacles to return and restoring essential services.
Restore rights to their rightful owners; enable the restitution of seized properties; and establish effective mechanisms for compensation and for both individual and collective reparation.
Integrate the violations committed in the area into transitional justice programs in a manner that guarantees accountability, redress, compensation, and guarantees non-recurrence.
Link any political negotiation process to guarantees for the return of the displaced, and empower the area’s residents to manage their local affairs through inclusive, elected local structures that foster confidence and uphold the rule of law.
Depoliticize water and natural resources; ensure the regular operation of Alouk Water Station; and refrain from using water as a tool of pressure on communities.
Incorporate Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî into reconstruction programs on a non-discriminatory basis, ensuring equal access to services and public investment that supports sustainable return.

The Signatory Organizations:

ACCESS
Act for Afrin
Afrin Platform
Afrin Social Association
Ambassadors Association for Persons with Disabilities
Analysis and Strategic Studies Organization (ASSO)
Aras Association
Areej Organization
Artist Organization for Culture and Development
ASHNA for Development
Ashti Center
ASHTI Foundation
Committee of Displaced Persons from Serê Kaniyê/Ras al-Ain
Dar Association for Victims of Forced Displacement
Dar for Peace and Prosperity
Development Seeds Centre
Dijla Organization for Development and Environment
Ella for Development and Peace Building
Human Rights Organization Afrin- Syria
Humanitarian Development Cooperation
Jian Humanitarian Organization
Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights
Kobani for Relief and Development
Lelun Association for Victims
Malva for Arts and Culture
Missing Persons’ Families Platform in North and East Syria (MPFP-NES)
Network of Statelessness Victims in al-Hasakah (NSVH)
Nûdem Médias et Developpement
Nujeen Association of Community Development
PEACE SHE LEADAR NETWORK
PÊL – Civil Waves
Peyam Organization
Ras al-Ain Platform
RDI Organization
RÊ for Rehabilitation and Development
Reng for Development
Rojava Association for Kurdish Culture and Literature
Roni Peywend
Rose for Support and Empowerment
Salam for Hope
SCSD
Shams Organization for Rehabilitation and Development”
SHAR for Development
Shawshka Women’s Association
Small Dreams Group
Synergy Association for Victims
Syriac cultural association in Syria
Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ)
Taa Marbouta
Tara for Development
Together for a better society- TBS
We Care
White Hope Organization
Wheat & Olive Platform
Yekpar Society for Culture and Arts
Zagon Organization
Zagros Center for Human Rights
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